Emily Frembgen -- No Hard Feelings

Emily Frembgen knocks you off your feet right off the bat with "Are You Listening?" Her album, last year's No Hard Feelings, is a heady mix of confidence and soul-searching: an examination of life once you get enough water under the bridge to get some real perspective. "Are You Listening?" offers some sage advice for anyone who's in a bad spot: the world will go on, and you will, too. In fact, things will even get better.

But that doesn't mean everything will be fixed and that the world is a happy place. Even when you're no longer devastated, you can still feel lost. "Magazines" examines family dynamics, and Frembgen wonders what kind of person she would be if her life had begun differently. "I Wish I Had a Father" continues in that vein, peeking down paths untraveled, and how the ones that were taken have impacted her even now.

There's a sense of dark humor here. "Fentanyl" considers the ways that the isolation of lockdown have pushed us all to the brink. "Hard 2 Love" has an acid wit that will prompt you to raise a glass in solidarity. On the other hand, "Wrong Idea" dismantles toxic notions of romance with ruthless ease.

Frembgen's high lonesome voice, couched in gentle guitars, feels like a spiritual successor to Karen and the Sorrows. After all, when you're on the bottom, all there is to do is look up and see the light. No Hard Feelings provides company amid misery, and helps us feel less alone.

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